The invention relates to a vehicle brake system having two brake circuits, which each comprise at least one wheel brake, a fluid control module for fluid pressure control at the at least one wheel brake, and at least one brake line for connecting the fluid control module to the at least one wheel brake, such that only one brake line is connected to each wheel brake.
Vehicle brake systems are generally split into two brake circuits so that, in the event of failure of one brake circuit, the vehicle provided with the brake system may still be decelerated by means of the second intact brake circuit and at least an adequate emergency braking action is ensured.
DIN 74000 defines five conventional ways of splitting a vehicle brake system into two brake circuits:
1) the II split according to FIG. 1, in which the wheel brakes VL and VR of a front axle V and the wheel brakes HL and HR of a rear axle H are associated in each case with one of two brake circuits 1 and 2,
2) the X split according to FIG. 2, in which each brake circuit 1 or 2 comprises the diagonally opposite wheel brakes VL and HR or VR and HL,
3) the HI split according to FIG. 3, in which the wheel brakes VL and VR of the front axle V are associated with both brake circuits 1 and 2 and the wheel brakes HL and HR of the rear axle H are both associated with one brake circuit 1,
4) the LL split according to FIG. 4, in which each brake circuit 1 and 2 controls the wheel brakes VL and VR of the front axle V and one of the brake wheels HL or HR of the rear axle H, and
5) the HH split according to FIG. 5, in which each brake circuit 1 and 2 acts upon all of the wheel brakes VL, VR, HL and HR.
Of said possibilities, according toxe2x80x9cKraftfahrtechnisches Taschenbuchxe2x80x9d [Automotive Engineering Handbook], Bosch, 22nd edition, 1995, page 622, the II and the X split have gained acceptance. Given a minimum outlay for lines, hoses, detachable connections and static and/or dynamic seals, in terms of the risk of failure as a result of leakages they are comparable with a single-circuit brake system.
In order to comply with the statutory regulations regarding the emergency braking action in passenger cars, front-wheel drive cars are equipped with the X split. The II split is preferably used for rear-wheel drive passenger cars as well as medium- and heavy-duty utility vehicles.
In light utility vehicles, on the other hand, the HI, LL and HH splits are used. This is necessary because light utility vehicles, as designed, have a less advantageous chassis layout, e.g. with regard to axle load distribution, wheelbase and roll radius, with the result that braking with only one brake circuits generates in the vehicle a not inconsiderable torque about its vertical axis, the so-called yawing moment G illustrated in FIG. 1. Said high yawing moment may lead to potentially hazardous driving situations. In the case of the HI, LL and HH splits, both wheel brakes of the front axle are connected to each brake circuit so that, even in the event of failure of one brake circuit, the front axle is always uniformly braked and a high yawing moment of the light utility vehicle either does not occur at all or is compensated relatively well.
The HI, LL and HH splits do however present problems because, in the event of failure of both wheel brakes of an axle, e.g. as a result of thermal overstressing, total failure of the brake system may occur. Furthermore, with the HI, LL and HH split the outlay in terms of the number of brake lines and the connection of two brake lines to the wheel brakes is higher than with the II and X split. The higher number of brake lines and connections also increases the risk of leakages.
For passenger cars with II and X brake circuit splits, control units of an antiblocking system (ABS), of traction control (ASR) or of an electronic stability program (ESP) are being developed and produced in large numbers. A special feature of a brake system with an HI, LL or HH split is that one wheel brake is controlled by two brake circuits. It is therefore impossible to use standard ABS, ASR or ESP control units and necessary to develop separate control units. For said reason, adding ABS, ASR or ESP to a brake system with an HI, LL or HH split is possible only with a high outlay.
The object of the invention is to increase the safety of a vehicle brake system during braking with only one intact brake circuit and, in particular, to enable the use of a vehicle brake system with an II or X split also in light utility vehicles.
The object is achieved according to the invention by a vehicle brake system of the type described initially, in which a sensor arrangement for determining failure of a brake circuit is provided, and the fluid control modules in the event of failure of a brake circuit are capable of controlling the fluid pressure at the at least one wheel brake of the intact brake circuit in such a way that the gradient of a developing yawing moment of a vehicle provided with the vehicle brake system does not exceed a predetermined maximum value.
The object is moreover achieved by a method, whereby a sensor arrangement for determining failure of a brake circuit is provided, failure of a brake circuit is determined and the fluid pressure at the at least one wheel brake of the intact brake circuit is controlled so that the gradient of a developing yawing moment of a vehicle provided with the vehicle brake system does not exceed a predetermined maximum value.
According to the invention, the increase of the yawing moment of the vehicle which occurs during braking with only one intact brake circuit is slowed down by suitable fluid pressure modulation at the wheel brake(s) of the intact brake circuit and/or said increase of the yawing moment is prevented from exceeding a value which would lead to a potentially hazardous driving situation. For example, a pressure rise, which is flatter compared to a normal braking operation, is generated at the wheel brake of a front wheel so that the maximum brake pressure there is reached slightly later. The yawing moment is substantially proportional to said brake pressure and therefore has, in accordance with the invention, a lower gradient. The vehicle therefore starts to yaw only slowly. Said yawing behaviour may be brought under control by a driver more easily than a suddenxe2x80x9cswervingxe2x80x9d of the vehicle as a result of a rapidly increasing yawing moment.
The fluid pressure modulation differs from that of an ABS, ASR or ESP modulation with an intact vehicle brake system in that the braking deceleration at individual wheel brakes is reduced, in particular at the wheel brake of the front wheel, and/or increased, in particular at the wheel brake of the rear wheel.
In said case, a xe2x80x9cstandardxe2x80x9d reduction or increase for each emergency braking situation may be effected, which is constant or dependent only upon parameters such as the speed or loaded state of the vehicle. Alternatively, the yawing behaviour of the vehicle may be determined, e.g. by means of a sensor for the rate of turning and/or yawing of the vehicle about the vehicle vertical axis, and used as a basis for determining a reduction and/or increase of the braking decelerations at the wheel brake(s) which is xe2x80x9cindividuallyxe2x80x9d adapted to the yawing behaviour of the individual braking situation. The braking decelerations are at the same time controlled so as to comply with the statutory regulations regarding the residual deceleration to be achieved in the event of a fault (ECE13 regulation).
In an advantageous form of application of the invention, four wheel brakes are disposed in pairs at a front and a rear axle of a vehicle provided with the vehicle brake system and the, in each case, diagonally opposite wheel brakes are associated with a brake circuit. Thus, an X split of the brake circuits as described initially is provided, with which the invention may be used in a particularly advantageous manner because, with said X split, in the event of failure of a brake circuit it is always only one front wheel and the diagonally opposite rear wheel which are braked. The vehicle is therefore decelerated in an extremely asymmetrical manner. By virtue of the fluid pressure modulation according to the invention said asymmetrical deceleration may be prevented, reduced or compensated in such a way that the vehicle, during braking with only one brake circuit, remains in a stable driving condition.
The vehicle brake system according to the invention may be assembled in a particularly inexpensive manner from standard components by combining the two fluid control modules in a conventional 4-channel ABS control unit, and a controller of the ABS control unit is geared towards receiving signals from the sensor arrangement and, in the event of failure of a brake circuit, controlling the fluid pressure at the wheel brakes of the intact brake circuit. As a controller is already provided with ABS control units, the fluid pressure modulation according to the invention is already obtainable by altering the software for the controller. Instead of an ABS control unit, the control unit of an ASR or ESP system or of an electrohydraulic brake (EHB) may be used.
In a particularly simple embodiment of the invention, the fluid control modules in the event of failure of a brake circuit are capable of modulating the fluid pressure at the wheel brake of the front axle of the intact brake circuit. During braking a high braking deceleration generally acts upon the wheel brake of the front axle because of a pitching motion of the vehicle and may generate a high yawing moment. It may therefore be sufficient to modulate the fluid pressure only at the front axle and hence reduce the yawing moment.
In comparison to a conventional ABS braking operation, modulation at the wheel brake of the front axle is advantageously effected by reducing the fluid pressure, in particular by slowing down a pressure build-up and/or by generating a short pressure reduction phase. The braking effect of the wheel brake is admittedly reduced thereby but this is admissible and meaningful because the vehicle is consequently stabilized and a potentially hazardous driving situation is avoided.
The fluid control modules in the event of failure of a brake circuit are advantageously capable of controlling the fluid pressure at the wheel brakes of the intact brake circuit in such a way that a wheel with a higher wheel load experiences less braking deceleration than a wheel with a lower wheel load. The transmissible friction force at the wheel is the product of friction resistance and normal force (wheel load). Accordingly, a wheel with a higher wheel load may transmit a higher friction force and leads then to a higher braking deceleration. Given an asymmetrical load distribution (II split) or asymmetrical emergency braking (X split), the asymmetrical load distribution therefore leads to an asymmetrical braking deceleration and hence a yawing moment. According to the invention, the asymmetrical braking deceleration is reduced and so the occurrence of a potentially hazardous yawing moment is avoided.
According to the invention, rotational speed sensors of a conventional ABS brake system are advantageously used as a sensor arrangement and the fluid control modules are capable of comparing the slip values of the wheels with one another and/or with stored slip values of a conventional ABS braking operation and, in the event of an extreme variation of the slip values, of determining that one wheel of a brake circuit is not being braked, i.e. said brake circuit has failed. There is therefore no need for separate sensors for determining a brake circuit failure. Alternatively or additionally, sensors specially geared towards determining a brake circuit failure, e.g. pressure sensors at the brake lines, may be provided.
The vehicle brake system according to the invention is used particularly advantageously in a utility vehicle, in particular a light utility vehicle. In utility vehicles the wheel loads, because of asymmetrical loading, often differ widely and in the event of emergency braking this may lead to an undesirably fast or even potentially hazardous increase of the yawing moment. Said risk is reduced according to the invention. Previously it was not possible to use a vehicle brake system with an II or X split in a light utility vehicle. Said use is now possible with the brake system according to the invention.
The method according to the invention is advantageously developed with the steps: provision of a rotational speed sensor at each wheel brake, determination of the slip values of the rotational speed sensors, comparison of the slip values of the wheels with one another and/or with stored slip values of a conventional ABS braking operation and determination of the variation of the values. In said case, in a brake system with an X split the slip values of the wheels of an axle are compared. Should they reveal a different turning behaviour of the wheels, the slip values of the diagonally opposite wheels are additionally compared in order to obtain further confirmation or verification that a brake circuit has failed and its wheels are no longer being braked.
The manner, described in claims 7 and 10, of using rotational speed sensors to determine the failure of a brake circuit may also be used independently of the features described in the characterizing portion of claim 1.